How Long Do Plymouth Argyle Give Tom Cleverley?

How Long Do Plymouth Argyle Give Tom Cleverley?

Plymouth Argyle fell to a fourth consecutive defeat on Saturday after being convincingly beaten by Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 in the FA Cup. The Pilgrims sit in the drop zone, occupying 22nd place in League One, an abysmal start to the campaign following relegation from the Championship last season. Manager Tom Cleverley’s days are numbered if drastic changes in performances aren’t found soon.

So how long do Plymouth Argyle give Cleverley?

The Plymouth boss has already admitted to the long road of recovery ahead, with fans having to wait months to see real signs of improvement. However, will Cleverley still be at Home Park by the time we get round to the new year, or will the reins be passed on once more in a torrid cycle of underperforming managers?

It’s not as if Argyle are stringing a few decent performances together and are simply getting unlucky, as the club have been comfortably beaten in each of their last four encounters.

It’s a similar story to the performances on display in August, when The Pilgrims lost their first four opening league matches of the season. It is an unhealthy and unsustainable snowballing effect which more likely than not will see Plymouth cemented down in the relegation scrap come the end of the campaign the way things are going.

Whether bringing in a new manager will help get the team back to winning ways remains to be seen. With Argyle’s next two league fixtures being against ninth-place Huddersfield Town and second-place Bradford City, it could well be the end of the road for Cleverley.

Plymouth Argyle manager Tom Cleverley actually answering some questions to the furious fans after their defeat yesterday 😳#pafc #Chairboys pic.twitter.com/i2xlkw1zfo

— AllAboutLeagueOne (@LeagueOne25) November 2, 2025

Tom Cleverley’s time at Argyle so far

August

After the disappointment of being relegated to League One, Plymouth Argyle fans were therefore optimistic when Tom Cleverley was announced as their new manager on June 13th.

Despite his lack of experience in management, his only previous job being with Watford, supporters were willing to get behind the former Hornets boss. However, it became apparent after the opening game of the season that Cleverley needed more time to implement his ideas.

The Pilgrims lost 3-1 to Barnsley, who played a third of the game with 10 men, and even scored their third goal with a player less. That was the start of the club’s four-game losing streak, with their only victory of the season at that point coming in the form of a 3-2 comeback victory over QPR in the EFL Cup.

With only three goals scored in their first four league games, it became blindingly obvious that the void left from Ryan Hardie’s transfer to Wrexham was too big to ignore.

The Plymouth boss insisted he would rather wait to sign the right profile of striker than rush out and sign a random forward. The addition of marksman Lorent Tolaj has been one of the few positives during Cleverley’s tenure at Plymouth, as the Swiss forward has injected a clinical edge into Argyle’s attack.

The Pilgrims lost six of their eight games in August across all competitions, with the other two games being wins at Home Park.

‘Lorent Tolaj has been involved in 23 league goals (18G, 5A) so far in 2025 - more than any other foreign player across the top 4 tiers of English football’ 😮‍💨

📊 @PlaymakerStats on Insta #pafc pic.twitter.com/Lp7tjG5WiO

— Argyle Life / Green & White Podcast (@ArgyleLife1886) October 20, 2025

September

However, the month of September saw a massive upturn in performances as Argyle won five out of six games in all competitions. Plymouth enjoyed a three-game winning streak at the start of the month, as well as back-to-back away wins against Luton and Burton, giving fans something to get behind.

Summer signing Tolaj scored five goals and provided one assist in his five appearances across September, being the catalyst in the club’s newfound form. Cleverley looked to have finally implemented his tactics and ideas into the team, however this only provided fans with false hope.

October & November

Plymouth are winless in their last five games since their emphatic 4-0 away win at Burton. Cleverley’s men have slumped to four defeats in a row, scoring only one goal across that period.

A hat-trick of 2-0 defeats in the last three games have been tough pills for Pilgrim fans to take, as this run included losing to arch-rivals Exeter City and exiting the FA Cup in the first round at the hands of Wycombe Wanderers.

A stark contrast compared to last season, as the Pilgrims went on an impressive cup run to dispatch Premier League teams Brentford and Liverpool. Argyle even took the lead against Manchester City in the fifth round, which gave supporters something to shout about despite being plumb last in the Championship at the time.

After already being eliminated from the EFL Cup, and with an FA Cup run no longer on the table, Plymouth now have just the league and the EFL Trophy to focus on. Is this a blessing in disguise, or are the Pilgrims on a continuous downward trajectory for the rest of the season?

Tom Cleverley reacts to today's defeat.

— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) November 1, 2025